WOOD CULTURE 21

CONSTRUCTION EXPERTISE FOR ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS AND BUILDING OWNERS

ISSUE 01 | 2020
 Library and Pavilion Marrickville Australia 04
Student’s Residential Complex Bochum 10
Pre-fabrication as Quality Feature in the Example of Bochum 16
Heuriger in Kamptal 20
Celeste 2 France 24
Helmholtz Diabetes Centre Neuherberg 30
Rubner Doors Schwarzenstein Mountain Shelter 36
ZELUBA® of the Frauenhofer WK Institute 40
Preview 42
EDITORIAL
21ST CENTURY
CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL
Ever since, wood has been a material
that has been used for building pur-
poses. Wherever available on earth,
mankind has worked with this material.
Today, it is not the question whether to
use timber in building design or not,
rather it is the question of how timber
can most suitably be used in building
design.
It is clearly justified to say that tim-
ber is a true all-rounder connecting
nature and technique and that it is
considered today to be the biogenic
trendsetting building material of the
future. No wonder - timber not only
displays positive healthy properties
in our living environments, but it also
has lots of technical advantages to of-
fer compared to traditional building
materials. Due to its cellular structure
with specialised cell wall architec-
tures, timber has hollow structures,
which are differently shaped depend-
ing on the type of wood that is used.
This means that timber offers perfect
conditions to be used as construc-
tion material. Despite its low density
(200-2,000 kg/m3), timber offers great
stability and strength properties,
which, with regard to its mass, are
higher than the stability and strength
of steel. Any vacant spaces both in
public and private areas can be rap-
idly closed by using timber. The high
rate of pre-fabrication considerably
reduces construction periods. If ad-
ditional floors are to be added to a
building in urban sectors, timber is
the perfect material to use since it is
much lighter than steel or concrete.
Today, we live in a time where en-
vironmental issues determine the
relationship with our planet. Climate
change, which becomes increasingly
visible and perceptibly in our world,
will undoubtedly force us to change
the way we live on this earth and the
way we treat our planet. A fundamen-
tal change in architecture and urban
construction is urgently needed.
Energy-saving building methods and
ecological indicators are continuously
increasing in the building sector: What
is the energy input we need to erect
a building? To which extent does the
construction of a building impact our
environment - from the first ground-
breaking to the moment of moving
into the building? These questions will
be gaining more and more importance
in the future on our way to sustainable
management. Bearing all these issues
in mind and considering the positive
ecological assessment of timber, there
is no doubt at all that the importance
of timber as construction material will
continue to increase. Timber, the 21st
century construction material.
Yours truly,
Peter Rubner
President of the Rubner Group
3
 LIBRARY AND PAVILION

TIMBER
DOWN UNDER
A unique, environmentally sound and inviting community centre has been
created with the new library in the Australian village of Marrickville, which
goes far beyond the primarily use of a mere book collections site. With this
construction, Rubner Holzbau sets a further milestone in its company history
since Marrickville Library is the company’s first project in Australia. Works
executed on this fifth continent were executed as usual: smoothly, highly
precise and professional, comprehensively and adhering to schedule.
6
L
ibrarians agree in one aspect:
their workplace is far more than
just a catalogued storage site
of knowledge filled with thou-
sands of books. Libraries are places,
which invite the visitors to learn and
to live, there are a meeting point for
different cultures of any age. In the
Australian suburb of Marrickville, the
listed building of the former hospital
was preserved and restored to now
form part of the newly built library.
This newly created library has been
defined as multi-purpose community
facility whose innovative design com-
bines the most state-of-the-art tech-
nologies and sustainability.
To be able to execute this project,
54 round columns had to be built
with different lengths reaching from
3 to 9.3 metres. Trimmed and round
milled on a CNC-controlled machine
installed in the Rubner factory, some
90% of these timber columns support
the roof structure of the building - an
oversized floating canopy roof in-
spired on the old hospital roof. Five
additional timber columns simultane-
ously bear the load of one part of the
roof and of the façade including the
railings. These columns provide an
open space feeling since the library’s
main atrium, which allows to take a
glance at the major areas in the newly
installed three-storey building, hardly
has any suspended ceilings. Before
timber construction works started,
the Rubner Holzbau construction
office prepared the design draft in
the scope of a workshop, which took
place in Brixen. The design had been
elaborated by a local Australian en-
gineering office. This meeting was
also attended by the project manager
of the building owner as European
know-how is highly demanded by
Australian construction industry. All
column footing joints, and all column
head elements required tailor-made
designs and individual production.
This millimetric precision had to be
applied to the steel components
as well, which serve to support the
façade’s and rails’ fastening devices
to the columns. This was all the more
important considering the fact that
the individual elements, which were
shipped to Australia were supposed
to perfectly fit on the construction
site during assembly.
Besides the round columns, Rubner
Holzbau also furnished the complex
hybrid solution made of steel and
timber as well as the entire façade
composed of straight and arched tai-
lored glued laminated timber posts.
Detailed and workshop design, fac-
tory prefabrication of all timber and
steel elements and the preliminary
assembly of elements were part of the
scope of services, which also included
on-schedule transport, customs clear-
ance in the port of Sydney and the
entire, smooth execution of all tasks
to be executed in close coordination
with local authorities.
Pre-assembly of all elements was es-
sential and considerably facilitated
on-site erection since it allowed to
position the timber columns before
the steel roof construction was deliv-
ered to the construction site. In ad-
dition, the pre-assembled columns
accelerated on-site erection works,
which resulted in a period of less than
six months for timber construction
works.
Increased attention was also paid to
the topic of sustainability. Not only
because of the adaptive conversion
of the former hospital building but
also and above all because of the
distinctive design features, which
characterise the building. Natural
and mixed ventilation systems, raised
floors, controlled solar radiation by
means of roof overhangs, several
rainwater collection tanks and out-
side sun protection systems are only
some of the features. In addition,
some 27,000 recycled tiles were used
as construction material. Given this
long list of sustainable elements, the
timber used in this project was ex-
pected to be on a par. Being classi-
fied as FSC-certified timber, the ma-
terial originates from environmentally
sustainable forests characterised by
efficient resource usage and it bears
quality seals guaranteeing economic
and ecologic sustainability.
7
Completion: 2019
Execution timber engineering works: 03/2018 - 08/2018
Building owner: CD Construction Group, Sydney (AUS)
Architects: Architecture BVN, Sydney (AUS)
Technical office for timber structure: TTW, St Leonards (AUS)
Timber engineering: Rubner Holzbau, Bressanone (IT)
Size: 3,600 m2 of total floor area, 1,200 m2 of garden area,
100 m2 children’s playground
Glued laminated timber: 33 m3 columns, 36 m3 posts
Steel: 6,4 t
Pictures: The Moment It Clicks – Phil Noller

The library in Marrickville opened its doors in August 2019 and the visitors are
welcomed by spacious areas, which are generously illuminated by natural light.
In these areas, the users are invited to sit, read, work or simply meet. Oversized,
floor to ceiling windows create unique views from the inside looking out to the
green lawn decorated with publicly accessible artworks.

Curved balconies provide a view into the heart of the library with its thousands
of books and connect numerous reading and learning areas. Single floors
connect to the old hospital building via suspended glazed walkways and
offer numerous spaces to socialise. And somewhere in this building you might
certainly find one or two readers who are taking an intensive and closer look
on those books dealing with timber engineering.

9
 MULTI-STOREY RESIDENTIAL BUILDING

TIMBER
ENGINEERING AS
OBJECT OF STUDY
 The new student’s residence complex in Bochum has been
designed as adequate and up-to-date response to pending
questions in terms of housing shortage and rapid residential
construction. The new construction of three residential buildings
with prefabricated building façade in timber frame construction has
been funded by the Federal Ministry of Construction in Bonn with a
total of 3.3 million Euro, since the buildings meet the German
passive house standard. In November 2019 the residential units
were handed over to be occupied by 258 students.

12

T
he demand for housing
space in urban agglomera-
tions, such as the Ruhr area,
increases as much as the
number of students. The influx of stu-
dents and trainees into these areas
does not particularly alleviate the
tense housing situation. Newly built
residential buildings must consider
several aspects: on the one hand in-
come levels of young professionals
are mostly low - yet housing must be
affordable - and on the other hand
residential buildings must be erected
within very short construction periods.
When it came to decide on the con-
struction of a new student’s residence
complex in the Laerheide Street in
Bochum, located in the immedi-
ate vicinity of the Ruhr University of
Bochum, the Akademische Förder-
ungswerk of Bochum (a student’s
support organisation) acting as the
contracting authority, opted for a
building in hybrid construction with
maximum level of prefabrication. The
ACMS-Architects office designed
a combination of prefabricated com-
ponents made of reinforced concrete
and a façade made of prefabricated
timber panel elements and presented
three identical, multi-storey buildings
in passive house standard, which were
able to offer accommodation to a
total of 258 students.
The complex is composed of three
L-shaped buildings whose head
buildings overtop with its five floors
the buildings’ sides, which have only
four floors. Since the complex has
been built on a former mining site,
ground stabilisation measures were
required prior to revitalisation by
partially backfilling the localised coal
layers. A complicated initial situation
where timber constructions can dis-
play their inherent advantages since
these buildings score with reduced
weight.
Within a period of only six months,
we were able to build 1-room, 2-room
and 4-room apartments, partially
furnished, with common and utility
rooms in the ground floor. In the out-
door areas, particular care was taken
to preserve the stock of trees and to
profit from the topography of the site
for natural rainwater management.
The very short construction period,
which in the Bochum project could
be reduced by 10 months compared
to other residential building projects
where constructions are built by
conventional building methods, was
secured by the buildings’ shell con-
struction with prefabricated concrete
elements and the façade executed
as timber frame construction. To do
so, 5,500 m2 of façade elements were
fabricated in the Austrian Rubner fac-
tory in Ober-Grafendorf with three
different types of surfaces (prema-
turely greyed larch cladding, glass
fibre reinfoced concrete panels and
galvanised sheet metal elements),
which were then delivered on time to
the construction site ready for assem-
bly. The 444 windows including fall
protection devices and reveals were
also pre-installed in the factory.
A reinforced concrete, hollow core
slab system installed on steel main
beams is provided as unsupported
ceiling in the rooms. The gable walls in
these multi-storey buildings were ex-
ecuted as bracing walls and then filled
on site as semi-finished elements. No
major structural work will be required
to flexibly modify, at a later stage, the
floor plans of the buildings thus allow-
ing to transform in a future scenario
the student’s residence into a type
of shared assisted living apartments
with nursing services, or to integrate
office facilities, basically because the
entire complex provides barrier-free
access already.
The assembly of the building shell
was made without any scaffold at all,
only with the help of lifting platforms.
To do so, special fitting elements
had to be installed in the joint areas
since prefabricated façade elements
themselves had a well-designed joint
formation. Thanks to the entire pre-
fabrication process, up to 450 m2 of
façade elements could be assembled
per day. Each of the three buildings
was therefore erected within a period
of only three weeks and provided with
a weatherproof building shell. The gal-
vanised metal sheet façade elements
were installed on Rubner external wall
elements in the factory already.
13
14
Besides the flexible use of the build-
ing, the modular construction system
of the student’s residential complex
also scored with extremely short con-
struction periods and top execution
quality. The high level of architectonic
detailed engineering, prefabrication
of system components and the use
of pre-assembled bathroom mod-
ules contributed to the success of this
building complex, even in terms of
economic aspects.
„All of the experts involved in
For buildings, which are erected project execution, i.e. designers,
in compliance with passive house manufacturers and assemblers,
standards, where primary energy were ruled by the idea of high
demand must not exceed a value of prefabrication rates. That was
40 kWh/m², external wall elements just perfect and amazing! It is a
in timber frame construction are a very good example of how fast
space-saving and highly heat-insu- a finished building shell can be
lating alternative, which, of course, erected.“
also meets all requirements in terms
Marc André Leja, Project Manager
of sound and fire protection made in Rubner Holzbau Augsburg
the field of multi-storey building con-
struction.

Completion: 2019
Building owner: Akademisches Förderungswerk,
public agency, Bochum (GER)
Architects: ACMS Architekten, Wuppertal (GER)
Timber engineering: Rubner Holzbau, Augsburg (GER)
Façade: 5,500 m2 of prefabricated façade elements, out of which
1,680 m2 of timber façade cladding and
1,730 m2 of fibre concrete façade cladding
Windows: 1,600 m2 for 444 units, 2,030 linear metres of sheet metal
Pictures: Sigurd Steinprinz 15
 MAXIMUM PRECISION

PREFABRICATION AS
QUALITY FEATURE
Smooth production regardless of any adverse weather condition, reliable
timetables and schedules as well as high cost-transparency – prefabrication provides
many advantages and is nowadays considered to be the most efficient solution in
terms of economic aspects. In the realisation of the student’s residence complex in
Bochum, maximum level of prefabrication was used for façade elements.

16
T
he timber engineering works,
which were to be executed
for the new student’s resi-
dence complex in Bochum,
seemed to be a pretty easy task. As-
sembly of prefabricated timber panel
elements for the façades of the three
identical multi-storey buildings was
carried out without any scaffold at all
only with the help of lifting platforms.
Every day, assemblers were able to in-
stall - in a noise-reduced manner - up
to 450 m2 of façade elements. Each
of the three individual buildings was
therefore erected and provided with a
weatherproof shell within a construc-
tion period only three weeks.
The fact that this project could be
executed so smoothly and without
any delay in the schedule was clearly
owed to the high level of prefabrica-
tion, to the perfect coordination of
all experts involved in the project,
and to the very high processing qual-
ity of individual building elements.
Even before the first machine in the
Ober-Grafendorf production halls
was started, plans were discussed in
detail with the architects. In addition,
all other trades involved in project ex-
ecution were also integrated in this
preliminary planning process.
“Previous communication is extraor-
dinarily important. Only if all parties
involved in the project have the same
perception of the works that need to
be executed and are able to identify
eventually arising problems before-
hand will it be possible to guarantee
that all processes are smoothly ex-
ecuted. This highly demanding stu-
dent’s residence complex in Bochum
is a prime example for timber engi-
neering projects, since all require-
ments from the different trades were
coordinated and brought together
17
under our company’s roof”, explains
Andreas Fischer, CEO of Rubner Holz-
bau in Germany from his own experi-
ence.
Today, modular construction offers
large freedom of design without any
limitations whatsoever, provided,
however, that all details have already
been exactly discussed in a prelimi-
nary project stage: Which technical in-
stallations must be taken into account
in façade elements? Where should
ventilation shafts be installed in the
buildings? or: Where shall integrated
sun protection systems be installed
and from how many points shall these
systems be controllable? This project
is a particularly good example to show
the manifold advantages of high-level
factory prefabrication. Optimum fab-
rication conditions in weatherproof
and dry production halls allow de-
tailed and exact design, which also
includes logistics and transport peri-
ods. This secures on-time project ex-
ecution with maximum adherence to
time and process schedules as well as
cost transparency.
The distinctive feature of this specific
project certainly was the high level of
prefabrication, which led to full com-
pletion of outside façade elements in
the Austrian factory of Rubner Holz-
bau in Ober-Grafendorf. The entire
5,500 m2 of façade elements were
manufactured in the factory with
three different surface designs - pre-
maturely greyed larch cladding, glass
fibre reinforced concrete panels and
galvanised sheet metal elements. In
addition, all 444 window elements, in-
cluding window glazing and technical
components, were also inserted in the
factory. Cutting the glass fibre rein-
forced concrete panels was a special
„All parties involved
and unusual challenge that our com-
in the project had the same
pany had to master, since the manu-
understanding of factory
facturer did not offer any formatting
prefabrication. Detailed
of its products. Therefore, we had to
architecture design was the
develop and install special machines
key factor to achieve this
to process this material.
economic solution.“
Although this high level of prefabri- Andreas Fischer, CEO
Rubner Holzbau Augsburg
cation required adequate transport
protection, it allowed to considerably
reduce actual assembly periods on
site. Compared to other residential
buildings erected by using traditional
building methods, time required for
assembly was reduced by ten months.
19
 TIMBER – WHAT A WONDERFUL MATERIAL

AT THE MANOR’S
HOUSE
With its impressive timber roof construction and with its very cosy atmos-
phere, the newly built traditional Austrian wine tavern (Heuriger) of winemaker
Michael Bauer from Mitterstockstall underlines the quality of his wines.
Wine connoisseurs describe them as enjoying a holiday in a glass and as
experiencing a moment of pleasure.

As soon as autumn starts to invade
the 40 metres high, elongated ter-
race of the Wangram wine region,
thousands of grapevines start pre-
paring for the season. First of all,
they start by changing the colours of
their leaves and finally they end-up
dropping all of their leaves. By the
beginning of October, the moment
has come for the regional winemak-
ers to start harvesting their grapes in
order to obtain their natural product
from the vineyards. This process is re-
peated by winemakers every year and
also by Michael Bauer from Mitter-
stockstall (AT), who recently decided
to have erected a small, yet modern
designed traditional wine tavern at his
family-owned manor’s house to offer
the possibility to taste family-culti-
vated wines. It was architect Laurenz
Vogel, who was also born in this beau-
tiful wine region, who had the idea of
building this new wine tavern.
“I do not execute a project just be-
cause it is a State-of-the-Art project
– I am rather interested in analysing
the interaction of a particular place
with its history”, reveals architect Lau-
renz Vogel in an interview he gave
to the Wood Magazine. It was there-
fore not surprising at all that the new
wine tavern with its tasting room was
aligned in parallel to the former barn
and that the architect, who also is a
trained master carpenter, decided to
execute the building by using timber
as construction material. Structural
conditions on site as well as the sur-
rounding landscape served as source
of inspiration.
„Thanks to the excellent
cooperation between statics,
construction, project manage-
ment and fabrication we were
able to fulfil all the ideas and
requirements set by the client
and the architect. This is one of
our main strengths.“
Albert Winter, Project Manager
Rubner Holzbau Ober-Grafendorf
The entire ridged roof construction, a
freestanding, unsupported roof truss
with roof beams and double tie joints
is made of timber. This structure is
not visible from the outside since the
roof with its tile covering has been de-
signed as steep sloped roof to provide
as much shadow as possible during
the summer months. Therefore, the
visitor of this wine tavern is welcomed
by an open and bright interior design.
A 21 metres long, spanned ridge roof
beam is supported by inclined raft-
ers traversing the entire room. The
thus resulting load on the wall plate is
transferred onto the glued laminated
timber tension rods.
All prefabricated wall elements have
been inserted into the rib system as
wooden frame construction with a
closed timber façade right in front of
it. External walls have been designed
with a curtain-type board cladding
and windows are made in timber and
aluminium. “Usually, I prefer to work
with small and regional carpenters
but in this particular case the perfect
choice was to cooperate with a large
and experienced timber engineering
company such as Rubner Holzbau”,
explains architect Laurenz Vogel who
highly praises the cooperation with
our company.
21
Completion: 2018
Building owner: Michael Bauer, Mitterstockstall (AT)
Architect & structural designer: Laurenz Vogel Architekten, Kirchberg am Wagram (AT)
Statics & structural physics: Rubner Holzbau, Ober-Grafendorf (AT)
Timber engineering: Rubner Holzbau, Ober-Grafendorf (AT)
Construction: 32 m3 of glued laminated timber construction in spruce with beam cross-section
Roof beams 16/32 cm x 21 m, 280 m2 of prefabricated roof elements with dimension 2.9 x 21 m
(plain edged formwork), 85 m2 of prefabricated wall elements with dimension 4 x 4 m
(frame construction made of solid structural timber with intermediate insulation),
wall cladding at the windows
Pictures: Leonhard Hilzensauer

Rubner Holzbau was charged with

the realisation of all structural engi-
neering and design works. The glued
laminated timber structural frame as
well as all roof and wall elements were
prefabricated in the Ober-Grafendorf
factory, transported to the construc-
tion site and assembled. The company
was also responsible for the execution
of all roofing and plumbing works.

„Timber is a wonderful
material because it allows rapid
and efficient construction – if
we had not used timber as
construction material for this
traditional tavern, we would
never have been able to finish
this project so quickly.“
Laurenz Vogel, Architect
 RESPECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

TIMBER STRUCTURE
AND GLASS FIBRE
Within a period of only four months, all timber engineering works for
the new Celeste Data Centre in Champs-sur-Marne were concluded.
Rubner Construction Bois executed the entire structure for this new
timber building that has been erected right next to the up to now
existing company head office.
 T
he economic success and
achievements of the Celeste
Data Centre in Champs-sur-
Marne are not clearly visible
in public: within the first six months of
the year 2019, the company installed
as many glass fibre cables as in the
entire year of 2018. Some 4.000 cli-
ents throughout France rely on the
services of this company, among oth-
ers, hundreds of fire stations in Paris,
which need rapid, secure and well-
functioning connections to the cable
network. What, however, has become
increasingly visible for everyone in the
last few years was the lack of space in
the company head office, which finally
ended up in the urgent need of addi-
tional office space and a second data
centre with additional server rooms.
When it came to decide on the new
construction of the data centre, which
26 was to be erected on the neighbouring
premises of the already existing
company head office, the persons
in charge of the project decided to
choose timber as natural construc-
tion material, since it was considered
to best represents the company’s own
values, which are basically ruled by en-
vironmental responsibility and respect
as well as sustainable development.
All these values are perfectly guaran-
teed by using timber as construction
material which, apart from being a re-
newable raw material, is also able to
store CO2. In addition, this strategic
decision offered some more advan-
tages due to the inherent properties of
timber: noise generation on construc-
tion site was considerably reduced and
the same applied to the level of soil-
ing. In addition, ongoing operations in
the neighbouring building were hardly
affected by construction works. The
five-storey building was built around
a concrete core that has been pro-
vided to accommodate staircases
and lift shafts. Rubner delivered the
entire timber structure for the build-
ing. Glulam beams were mainly used
„CLT, glued laminated posts
and beams and wooden
timber frame walls, the mix
and complementarity of the
wooden solutions produced by
Rubner Group is a real key to
efficient projects and effective
sitework.“
Alexis Duhameau, Directeur commercial
Rubner Construction Bois
as well as CLT-panels, which - apart
from its high static loading capacity
allow to implement new dimensions in
terms of architecture and design. The
crosswise laminated timber panels
allow a bi-axial load transfer, which up
to now, had been exclusively achieved
by steel concrete constructions. The
inherent rigidity and stability of the
panels has an additional positive
effect on the building bracing.
Thanks to the installed and prefab-
ricated timber frame panels for the
outside walls the rapid execution
of construction works could be se-
cured, and timber construction pe-
riod was limited to only four months.
The fact that time was considered a
decisive parameter in the very early
preliminary project stage was owed
to digitalisation. In order to optimise
data transfer and to offer higher data
transfer speed in the information ex-
change with the parties involved in the
project, i.e. design office, responsible
architects and executing building 27
 companies, digital tools were installed
for this data centre construction site.
More than 30 new jobs are offered
in this second, 19 metres high and
box-shaped building of the eco-
logical Celeste Data Centre, which is
linked to the existing building on the
neighbouring premise by a continu-
ously glazed metal sidewalk. The CLT
panels were also used in this side-
walk since they support cantilevered,
point-supported constructions and
allow the implementation of this type
of structures.
The entire timber construction of the
building was covered by a dark black
metal cladding to be identical with
the already existing company build-
ing. By using this exterior building
design, the company complex enters
into a dialogue with the neighbouring
28
forest strip, which separates the build-
ing from the adjacent motorway and
almost hides the Celeste building.
Once the execution design had been
completed by Rubner construction
bois, the employees started with the
production of the timber elements,
delivered them to the Celeste head
office premises and assembled the
individual elements on site. Nicolas
Aubé, the founder of the Celeste com-
pany, was highly pleased to observe
the largely clean timber construction
works since he does not want to be
part of the polluting industry.
Completion: 2019
Project owner: Celeste, Champs-sur-Marne (FR)
Architects: ENIA Architectes, Montreuil (FR)
Technical office: S2T, Sèvres (FR)
Timber engineering works: Rubner construction bois, Chassieu (FR)
Façade: 1,050 m2 of prefabricated façade elements
Cross laminated timber: 200 m2
Glued laminated timber construction: 110 m3
Pictures: Epaillard+Machado Photographie

29
 RESEARCH CENTRE

HEALTH AND
ENVIRONMENT
The main target that is pursued by the Helmholtz Centre located in the
North of Munich is to develop personalised medical approaches for the
diagnostic analysis, therapy and prevention of major and widely spread
common diseases, such as diabetes. Working in close cooperation with
designers and architects, and supported by the employees of several
handicraft businesses, Rubner Holzbau developed state-of-the-art
building solutions for this new research centre.

“Some eight years ago, the Helmholtz
Centre in Munich decided to place
its strategic focus on the research of
diabetes. It was almost exactly one
year ago, when we gathered here at
this point to lay the foundation stone,
and today the building shell has been
completed and we are glad to see
how construction is rapidly and suc-
cessfully progressing”, explains Dr.
Alfons Enhsen, Managing Director at
the Research Centre in charge of the
scientific-technical infrastructure, on
the occasion of the topping out cer-
emony in May 2016.
The newly built Diabetes Research In-
stitute is undisputedly a very impor-
tant milestone for the infrastructure of
this centre and for the approximately
400 employees. With a total of some
six million diagnosed diabetes cases
in Germany alone, diabetes is consid-
ered a widespread common disease.
However, the estimated number of
unreported cases, i.e. people living
with this disease without knowing that
they suffer from it, is supposed to be
as high as the number of diagnosed
cases. This new, four-storey multidis-
ciplinary, bio-scientific research cen-
tre in Neuherberg was built with the
aim to be able to control this diabetes
epidemic. During the design phase
of this building, interaction and com-
munication among scientists of the
different institutes and workgroups
was particularly valued. To translate
increased transparency in research
work into the building language,
„Working with different façade
materials was a highly interesting
task that we had to handle in the
interfaces of building geometry.”
Andreas Paus, Project Manager
Rubner Holzbau Augsburg
Rubner Holzbau executed in this
new building a large-scale post and
beam façade. This façade is a double
façade in the form of a timber-glass
construction with solar protection
glazing and a curtain-type steel-glass
façade with single glazing. Whereas
the outside layer serves as protective
layer against emerging environmen-
tal impacts, such as solar radiation,
wind or rainfall, the inside façade
provides for thermal insulation. A fur-
ther advantage of this double façade
is the air-conditioning effect that is
achieved in the building since in the
case of extreme temperatures, out-
side air adapts to inside temperature
before entering the building.
Light penetration to the building’s
inside is increased even more by sky-
lights that are inserted into the glass
roof construction. These skylights are
a quiet modern lighting design for a
building. In addition, full glass railings
were installed as anti-fall glazing de-
vices. A special timber post and beam
add-on construction was developed
for the existing pitched roof area, and
an additional add-on-construction
with a weight of more than 40 tons has
been installed along the vertical solar
protection glazing.
31
 This construction also contains the
horizontal blinds, which serve as solar
protection device and which can be
operated electrically. Two aluminium
porch roofs and one windscreen con-
struction, which offer additional pro-
tection against wind and cold, com-
plete the modern design of this new
Diabetes Research Centre.
All timber-aluminium post and beam
façades as well as all aluminium fa-
çade elements were factory designed
and manufactured by Rubner Holz-
bau. Following on-time delivery of
building elements on the construc-
tion site, Rubner was also responsible
for the assembly of the elements and
for the coordination of timber and
steel façade construction works. Be-
sides the plumbing works involved in
this project, Rubner experts were also
charged with the execution of the
glass roof construction and the full
glass railings.
Guido Meßthaler, summarises his ap-
proach for this specific project. “With
this newly installed building, cutting-
edge research in the field of diabetes
is supported in many aspects. It not
only combines communication spac-
es with laboratory landscapes, but it
also links this new research centre to
other institutes, which are located on
this campus, thus allowing the scien-
tists to develop common solutions.”
„Project implementation was
successfully and outstandingly
achieved. All technical designers
and workmen have carried out
excellent work.”
Dipl.-Ing. Guido Meßthaler,
CEO of HDR

“In the design of the new Diabetes

Research Centre we were ruled by
the idea of combining the function
and the form of the building. Form
follows function, this is how the Archi-
32 tect and the CEO of HDR, Dipl.-Ing.
 Completion: 2019
Building owner: Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches
Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt
(German Research Centre for Health and Environment), Neuherberg (GER)
Architect: HDR, Düsseldorf (GER)
Timber and façade construction: Rubner Holzbau, Augsburg (GER)
Façade: 5,115 m² of façade surface,
1,160 m2 of aluminium post and beam façade with solar protection system,
1,420 m2 of timber-aluminium post and beam façade with solar protection glazing,
1,800 m2 of steel post and beam façade with single glazing system,
41 t of steel supporting structure for vertical glazing and pitched roof area,
360 m2 of post and beam add-on construction with vertical
solar protection glazing,
375 m2 of post and beam add-on construction of pitched roof
area with solar protection glazing,
1,639 m2 of horizontal aluminium blinds as solar protection device,
250 linear metres of full glass railings
Pictures: HGEsch

34
 SCHWARZENSTEINHÜTTE

SOLID TIMBER
BEYOND THE TREE
LIMIT
The interior design of the newly built high alpine hut, the Schwarzensteinhütte
in the Zillertaler Alps, is decorated with 39 internal doors designed and
manufactured by Rubner Türen. These doors, which score with their manifold
quality features, such as durability, optimum sound insultation, increased fire
protection classification and spruce surfaces, create a distinctive and cosy
atmosphere in this shelter built in the Austrian mountains.

O
nce again, assemblers
had to wait in the valley
to be transported to the
construction site by heli-
copter. Although a special material
cable car had been installed for the
construction of the new Schwarzen-
stein shelter, which is located on an
altitude of 3,026 m above sea level,
the craftsmen responsible for the as-
sembly and erection of the hut had to
be transported by helicopter to the
mountain summit. We must not for-
get that this multi-storey alpine hut
located in the Southern Tyrol part of
the Zillertal Alps is the highest shelter
that has ever been built in this moun-
tain group.
In the summer of 2017, interior design
works in the six storeys started with
the erection of the technical utility
rooms, drying rooms, showers and
toilets, which are installed in the two
basement floors. The kitchen and the
panorama restaurant are installed in
the ground floor and the sleeping ar-
eas in the upper three storeys. Since
interior designers responsible for wall
and furniture design had chosen nat-
ural, i.e. untreated, spruce as visible
building material, it was clear that the
39 internal doors, which are an impor-
tant aesthetic design element in the
hut, were going to adapt to the cosy
atmosphere of the environment too.
Therefore, roughly brushed spruce
surface was chosen as internal doors
design.
 Completion: 2018
Building owner: Autonomous Province of Southern Tyrol (IT)
General Constructor, Solid Construction: Burgerbau, St. Magdalena/Gsies (IT),
Oberlechner & Messner, Rasen-Antholz (IT)
Architect: Stifter + Bachmann, Pfalzen (IT)
Structural engineering: Ing. Stefano Brunelli, Bruneck (IT)
Doors: Rubner Türen, Kiens (IT)
Services provided: 39 internal doors with spruce surface (roughly brushed),
10 internal doors with fire protection classification REI 30, 15 internal doors
with fire protection classification REI 60, 3 internal doors with fire protection
classification REI 60 with side elements
Pictures: Oliver Jaist

38
Flush-mounted internal doors were
installed and act as space-saving
design element. However, precise
preliminary planning activities were
required since due to the remote-
ness of the building site it was very
difficult to carry out all measur-
ing activities during the very short
construction period in the summer
months. The built-in door frames
were installed in a way that carpen-
ters merely had to insert the partially
very large door elements that had
been transported to the top of the
mountain. This was a precision and
millimetric challenge, above all in the
case of the floor-to-ceiling doors and
of the doors with side elements.
Technical requirements made on
the internal doors in the Schwarzen-
stein shelter do not considerably dif-
fer from the technical requirements
made on internal doors installed in
lower regions. Durability is an impor-
tant aspect and the same applies to
optimum sound insulation features,
above all in the floors were the sleep-
ing areas have been installed. These
areas have been dimensioned to ac-
commodate two to ten persons. In
order to secure increased fire protec-
tion, different protection classifica-
tions were used, which guarantee a
fire inhibition time from 30 and/or 60
minutes. This was the first time that
we installed a flush-mounted version
of our internal door REI 60.
Detailed project design and logistic
services for material and staff trans-
port strongly contributed to the
fact that construction of the
Schwarzenstein shelter was carried
out without any delay and always
adhering to the set schedules. Even
in this high-alpine terrain, the pre-
cision doors manufactured by Rub-
ner Türen display their artisanal and
technically perfect quality standards.
Project managers involved in the
implementation of this project were
full of praise for the “extraordinary
collaboration” since each of the dif-
ferent trades involved in project ex-
ecution behaved like one part of a
well-coordinated rope team where
team members can blindly trust one
another.
39
 ZELUBA® OF THE FRAUNHOFER WKI

LIGHTWEIGHT AND
ENVIRONMENTALLY
COMPATIBLE
With a ground-breaking new construction and an earthquake testing
station, the Frauenhofer Wilhelm Klauditz Institute (WKI) will extend its
research capacities. The newly installed building, with an overall usable
area of some 1,700 m2, will house the ZELUBA® Department, the centre
for lightweight and environmentally compatible buildings.

N
ew concepts designed in
terms of modular, hybrid
building systems for light-
weight and environmental-
ly compatible structures will be devel-
oped in future in this building of the
Technical University of Braunschweig
in cooperation with the Frauenhofer
WKI. To be able to develop building
solutions against the background of
climate changes, population growth
and large migration flows, the con-
tracting authorities decided to test -
with the building itself - different and
highly promising construction meth-
ods. A hall that is built following the
traditional method of glued laminated
timber structure with an axis spacing
of 2.80 m and a span width of 19.20 m.
The ridged roof beams, mounted on
columns, house - among other instal-
lations, an earthquake testing sta-
tion. Sensitive laboratory equipment
is operated in the first floor of the
46 m long and three storeys high of-
fice and laboratory section. To secure
that these highly sensitive measur-
ing instruments do not start oscillat-
ing by walking-around persons, the
ceiling above the ground floor had
to be provided as extremely heavy
structure, which was achieved by a
timber-concrete hybrid construction
with filigree concrete ceiling on tim-
ber beams. The same construction
was used for the ceiling on top of the
upper floor but with reduced dimen-
sions. The ceiling of the second floor
has been executed as timber beam
construction. Factory pre-fabricated
outside wall elements in timber frame
construction with a length of ten me-
tres and with completed wall struc-
ture and inserted windows allowed
to rapidly complete the building shell
and secured construction progress in
compliance with the set schedule. The
home of this new competence centre
is therefore, at the same time, the first
practical implementation of this ap-
proach: to use timber in combination
with hybrid and largely pre-fabricated
sustainable construction systems as
viable and future-orientated building
material.

Completion timber engineering works: 2019

Scheduled commissioning of the building: end of 2020
Client: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., München (GER)
Architects: Company Association ZELUBA of DGI Bauwerk | schneider+schumacher
Hall: 123 m of glued laminated timber, 1,590 m2 of Kerto laminated veneer lumber, 737 m2 elements
3

Riegel: 119 m3 of glued laminated timber structural frame, 840 m2 of timber-concrete hybrid ceiling,
868 m2 of wall elements with inserted windows, 1,114 m2 of cladding elements.
40 Bilder: Fraunhofer WKI/Stefan Thiele
1. Ridged roof beams mounted on glu-
ed laminated timber columns as tra-
ditionally built hall frame structure
with a span width of 19.20 m.

2. Pre-fabrication of outside wall mod-

ules with a length of 10 m. Factory
installed windows, insulation and exte-
rior cladding.

3. The mass of the heavy timber-con-

crete hybrid ceiling reduces oscilla-
tions in the laboratory section.

4. The hall columns are provided with

the required notches, which serve as
support for the crane track.

5. Research hall and three-storey office

and laboratory section are connected
by an intermediate structure.

41
 GERMANY
The new Children’s Museum of the
Berlin Jewish Museum will open its
doors in May 2020. Under the roof
of the former Central Flower Market
right opposite the museum’s main
building in Berlin-Kreuzberg, the new
children’s museum is presently being
built on a surface of 2,700 m2. This
museum is intended to be a place
where children aged between three
and ten years can meet to discover,
explore or just play. With a height of
seven metres, the impressive circular
timber construction built by Rubner
Holzbau Augsburg reminds us of
an historic ark but also looks a little
bit like a spaceship. This structure
“combines the past and the future
and inspires us to newly interpret the
story of the Deluge and the saving
ark against the background of pre-
sent social and ecologic questions”,
explains the museum representative.

AUSTRALIA
The “Chadstone Link”, a stylish and weather-protected walkway, is presently
built in Melbourne and links the Chadstone Shopping-Center to the new office
tower “Tower 1” and to the new MGallery of the Sofitel-Hotel Group. On a
length of 110 metres, the spaciously designed and multi-purpose area in one
of the largest shopping centres of the southern hemisphere provides
manifold possibilities for exhibitions and many other events. The 31 differently
dimensioned and individually formed timber arches made of glued laminated
timber elements by Rubner Holzbau Brixen harmonically connect to the
arched glass roof of the adjoining building complex and reach, at their highest
point, a height of 15 metres. A highly translucent PTFE-cloth positioned on top
of the glued laminated timber structure provides for lots of natural light.

42
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
AND COMPLETED

PREVIEW
AUSTRIA
With the Technical College and Research Centre for Agriculture and Food as
well as Food Technology and Biotechnology (HBLFA - Höhere Bundeslehr- und
Forschungsanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung sowie Lebensmittel- und
Biotechnologie Tyrol), which is presently being built on a surface of some
20.000 m2, a new and unique agricultural research and educational centre will
be created in Rotholz, Austria, with classrooms, practical training rooms and
laboratory areas, including a model plant for milk processing and a boarding
home. The entire building complex with a total of 6,800 m2 of factory prefab-
ricated elements and 870 m3 of glued laminated timber from PEFC-certified
boards is built by Rubner Holzbau Villach in accordance with the climate active
gold building standard, an Austrian standard, which is a synonym for energy
efficiency, climate protection and resource efficiency.

43
Austria Germany Italy
Rubner Holzbau GmbH Rubner Holzbau GmbH Rubner Holzbau GmbH
Rennersdorf 62 Am Mittleren Moos 53 Alfred Ammon Str. 12
3200 Ober-Grafendorf, Austria 86167 Augsburg, Germany 39042 Bressanone (BZ), Italy
Phone: +43 2747 2251-0 Phone: +49 821 710 6410 Phone: +39 0472 822 666
holzbau.obergrafendorf@rubner.com holzbau.augsburg@rubner.com holzbau.brixen@rubner.com

Branch Office Villach France Rubner Holzbau Sud GmbH

Kanzianibergweg 14 Rubner Construction Bois SAS Zona Industriale
9584 Finkenstein, Austria 36 avenue des Frères Montgolfier 83045 Calitri (AV), Italy
Phone: +43 4254 50 444-0 69680 Chassieu, France Phone.: +39 0827 308 64
holzbau.villach@rubner.com Phone: +33 472 790 630 holzbau.calitri@rubner.com
direction.lyon@rubner.com

Imprint:
Editor and responsible for the content: Rubner Ingenieurholzbau AG, holzbau@rubner.com, www.holzbau.rubner.com.
The document, including all its parts, is protected by copyright. Reprints, even of extracts, are allowed only with the express authorisation of the editor.
Concept, layout & design: Serendipity GmbH – Agency for Advertising | Public Relations | Events, office@serendipity.ag, newsroom.serendipity.ag
Pictures: Rubner, Rubner Holzbau, The Moment It Clicks – Phil Noller, Sigurd Steinprinz, Digital Photo Image, Leonhard Hilzensauer, Epaillard+Machado Photographie, HGEsch, Oliver
Jaist, Fraunhofer WKI/Stefan Thiele.